Sothebys conga line down 72nd street in celebration as fiscal reality forced Massachusetts attorney general to allow Berkshire Museum to make sales.

The Berkshire Museum is close to realizing its plan to sell artworks from its collection in order to raise funds and pursue a “New Vision” after more than six months of fervent debate on street corners and in editorial pages, an investigation by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office, fierce opposition from museum groups, a closely followed court hearing in its hometown of Pittsfield, and a formidable number volume of legal filings.

Today, the Attorney General’s Office filed paperwork asking the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to approve a deal that will lead to the sale of at least some—and perhaps all—of the 40 works that were set to be auctioned off at Sotheby’s in New York back in November, before a court halted the sale so that the AGO could complete its review of the proposed sell-off.